Hilary knelt by Trixie's side, noticing that her neck had already started to bruise after Omen's hand had unmercifully gripped it. There were tears in the dark girl's eyes, trickling down her soft cheeks and mingling with the rain that sprinkled the teens. Hilary held Trixie's arm tight as Omen approached them, holding his knife aloft in his hand. A groan of terror threatened to escape from Hilary's mouth as with each step Omen took towards them, her hope for survival slipped away. Where was Kai? Was he injured? Was he...
Hilary couldn't bring herself to think of that awful word. It was an impossibility. Kai was her world, her life. He was the energy which kept her going, which kept her living. Without that energy there was nothing to fuel her, nothing to make her continue to exist. If he were dead then how could she still be alive?
She visibly flinched as Omen's voice knocked her out of her distressed thoughts, knocking her so hard that she could feel the pain in her chest. Or was that just suppressed panic?

"Well?" Omen asked again, his sadistic voice filled with a humour so dark it'd cause the devil to shy away like a pup from a rolled newspaper, "Who is first? How about you Trixie? You can be the first to say hello to Tala,"

The pain in Hilary's chest increased as she looked to her friend once more. The look on Trixie's face depicted agony far beyond that of which Hilary had felt so far. Her grip on Trixie's shoulders tightened a little, as she knelt hoping that she were giving Trixie the strength to continue. Hoping that they'd build the strength to run.

"I don't believe you," Trixie said through clenched teeth, though it sounded like she was trying to convince herself, "He's not dead. You're a liar!"

"Would you like to go and see his body?" Omen asked with a smirk, "Just a bit of warning, it's probably mangled to the point of non-recognition. You won't even be able to recognise your beloved. Now isn't that sad?"

A small sound, like a choked wail of misery slipped from Trixie's lips.

"What did you do with Kai?" Hilary asked shakily, "Where is he?"

"I think I might leave that as a little surprise," Omen grinned, "After all, he's either dying a very slow, painful and terrifying death... or he's screaming like a little girl,"

"You're probably just lying about Kai and Tala!" Trixie shouted suddenly, causing Hilary to jump in fright, "Lying just to make us upset! Lying just to see us suffer!"

"If I'm lying then why haven't Tala and Kai come to your rescue yet?"

Trixie stopped as sobs threatened to take over her body again.

"Honestly," Omen said, taking another step towards them, "You must be stupid to think that there is still any hope of either of them surviving. Sure I love messing with your heads but hey, even I can tell the truth sometimes. Any way, you're straying from the topic at hand. Hilary, maybe you'd like to die first?"

"Kill me instead,"

Hilary and Omen both stared at Trixie. She stared at the ground, her tears heavier and her whole body trembling.

"Well?" she asked, "Kill me and let Hilary go!"

"No!" Hilary cried,

Omen laughed, "You and your friends really are a bunch of self sacrificing losers aren't you?! So many have made that same offer to me and take a guess at how many I accepted, none! What makes you so different?"

Trixie smirked darkly, "Because this morning I made an anonymous tip to the cops about you, linking you to each of the murders that happened in town. Don't bother going after Shana either, I told her as we left school to leave town for a few days because you were after her again. I guess I just got so sick of waiting around for people to do something, that I took the liberty of acting on my own,"

Hilary stared at Trixie in shock, unable to believe that her friend would do something so incredibly rash, and not even tell her about it. Omen's face suddenly twisted into a sadistic mask of anger. His satanically beautiful face held more rage than Hilary could even imagine. It was almost as if his crimson eyes were ablaze. He gritted his teeth and held his knife in his white knuckled hand.

"You dirty little whore," his voice was like a venomous hiss, sending chills down both girl's backs, "How dare you? You've ruined my game! I'll kill you!"

Omen suddenly ran at them. Hilary screamed and clutched Trixie who just smiled sadly. Omen was almost upon them with the knife raised high when he was suddenly tackled by some one. They both fell into the soft ground with a thud but Omen was quick to kick off the offender. Hilary and Trixie could only stare in dumbstruck awe as Tala picked himself up off the ground slowly, wincing in pain with every move.

"Tala?" Trixie whispered, barely able to believe her eyes, "You're alive?"

Tala glanced back at her and smirked.

"Of course I am. Unfortunately it's a loss for me both ways. If I die then Omen will kill you and I'll have to spend the rest of eternity listening to your bitching. If I live then I'll have to save you of course and still have to put up with you. I decided to choose the lesser of the two torments but still, there's just no winning."

Tala waited but heard no smart-arsed response or indignant backlash coming from Trixie. He was fighting the urge to look back at her to see if she was okay, but there was no way he was taking his eyes off the murderer. Omen smiled at Tala but the humour was gone from his face, leaving only the enraged smile, which was almost a grimace.

"So, you're still alive? I can't say I'm not disappointed. How did you survive that fall?"

"I just kept grabbing hold of the window sills," Tala replied smugly, "I managed to slow my fall so when I hit the ground I wouldn't die. Why? Sad you didn't kill me?"

"A little," Omen replied, "Huh, you're in no state to fight me anyway. I can see your hands from here,"

Hilary and Trixie both looked at Tala's hands. They where raw and completely cut open. Blood dripped from his finger tips and disappeared in the muddles of water on the ground, leaving nothing but a rapidly disappearing scarlet haze. Tala also kept all of his weight off of his left leg, knowing that he'd fractured his bone in the fall. The pain was excruciating but he couldn't let Omen see that. Tala was already angry that Omen had picked up on one of his injuries so quickly.

"So what if my hands are a little cut up? I can still take you,"

"Let's test that theory," Omen ran at Tala suddenly, barely giving him warning.

Tala ducked a punch but saw Omen's foot too late as it whipped out and his boot struck Tala in his injured leg. Tala roared in pain and fell to his side, clutching his leg in agony. Omen stood over Tala and grinned darkly.

"It's hard to hide an injury like a broken leg. You did well though, I didn't notice until you shifted all of your weight onto your right leg. If your bone wasn't completely broken before," he chuckled darkly, "It is now. Tell me anyway, how many muscles do you think you might have stretched or snapped in your little fall? Including your arms."

Tala tried to get to his feet but Omen delivered a crushing kick to his stomach before stomping his foot down on Tala's rib cage, keeping him pinned to the ground. Tala gasped in pain and coughed, trying to regain the wind that had been knocked from his lungs. Omen grinned and brought his knife down. Tala's eyes automatically snapped shut but he didn't feel the sting of cold metal. Instead, he felt several droplets of warm syrup drip onto his face and a grunt which sounded more like a suppressed scream. He opened his eyes and saw Trixie kneeling over him, Omen's blade piercing straight through her shoulder just above Tala's face. She finally screamed in agony as Omen tore his knife out of her. Tala stared up at Trixie in absolute and paralysing shock, as she continued to wail in pure agony whislt trying not to collapse on him.

"T... Trixie?! Why... why did you do that?!"

She gritted her teeth and smiled at him, "You saved me from the dogs, it's the least I could do,"

Tala felt several of her tears hit his cheeks as he gazed at her, still unable to shake the shock. Omen smirked and kicked Trixie hard, sending her skidding across the ground until she rolled to a stop. She laid limply in the mud, unconscious but still with a look of pain on her pretty face.

"Trixie!" Tala and Hilary yelled in unison.

Tala rolled onto his hands and right knee, trying to get to his feet. Omen wouldn't allow it. Once again he kicked Tala onto his back and raised the knife.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked darkly, "I'm your opponent,"

Omen saw something flicker in the corner of his eye and quickly raised his free hand, blocking Kai's crushing punch with nothing more than his palm. Omen took several steps back and shook his hand sorely.

"Ouch Kai, that was so uncalled for,"

Hilary felt a wave of relief wash over her, numbing the pain in her chest as she saw Kai stand straight and face down Omen. He knelt beside Tala, examining his friend's leg whilst constantly throwing wary glances at Omen who was starting to circle around them.

"Sit out the rest of his fight," Kai said calmly, "I've got it from here,"

"Thanks," Tala said quietly, ashamed that he'd been taken out of the game so early, despite his injuries.

Kai stood, instantly blocking Omen off from Tala and the girls.

Omen sighed, "Come on! When am I actually going to be allowed to kill some one?! I try to kill Trixie, Tala gets in the way, I try to kill Tala and Trixie gets in the way, I try to kill them both and big, dark and moody gets in my way. There's no fucking winning with you people!"

"Get used to it you sad excuse for sack of crap," Kai spat, "I won't let you kill anyone!"

"Is this where we start fighting?" Omen asked lazily, "It's always the same. You say that line, we fight, I kick your arse. It's a vicious cycle mate, but always oh so enjoyable,"

Kai hadn't even waited for Omen to finish talking before he leaped at him, a vicious growl ripping from his throat. Omen was taken off guard but grappled with Kai, locking in combat as they did so many times before. Kai brought his knee up but Omen countered, both of them knowing each others moves as though they were their own.

"You know me too well Kai," Omen's voice was a sadistic hiss, filled with the same excitement a snake has before ripping into an easy meal, "Either that or our minds really do work alike,"

"I'm nothing like you!" Kai growled, "The only thing we share is the desire to kill the other,"

Omen suddenly spun his body, making Kai stumble forward but sidestep gracefully, though that wasn't before he felt something snatched from the back of his belt. He turned quickly and saw Omen standing back, admiring the deadly beauty of his dagger once more.

"I believe this is mine," he said, his voice now soft and velvety, "This blade will be the end of you Kai, just as it was the end for so many others,"

He twirled his knife with imense skill within his fingers, the glittering steel moving in shimmering arcs, flicking rain drops from its tip.

"Oh it feels so good to have my knife back," he said with a grin.

"Why don't you put that away and fight fair for once Omen?" Kai challenged, "Surely you're not so weak that you'd resort to using a blade?"

"I can fight fair if you're going to keep bitching about it," Omen replied.

He looked to Kai, lodging his knife into the front of his belt. He laughed darkly and jogged towards Kai, but instead of punching Kai saw him bring his knife back up. Kai quickly raised his arms as Omen suddenly shot forward and jumped at Kai, thrusting his knife towards him. Kai grasped Omen's forearms, lost his footing and fell onto his back, the edge of the knife mere inches from his neck.

"Then again, I always did love the sight of gushing blood!" He said through his evil grin.

Omen snickered and pushed down, the knife getting closer and closer to Kai's carotid artery. Tala saw what was happening and rolled onto his stomach with a cry of agony, trying to drag himself towards Omen in a vain attempt at stopping him from killing Kai. Hilary was frozen to the spot as the icy rain chilled her and that chasm returned to her chest. She looked at her shaking limbs and moved them forward slowly, her body not allowing her to move any faster.

"Move!" she whispered desperately, "God, please! I have to move!"

"Looks like we've reached the end of our game Kai!" Omen laughed, "I win!"

Hilary finally stood and ran forwards. Kai felt the metal touch his neck when a bang sounded from nearby. Hilary stopped dead in her tracks right beside Tala, both looking towards Omen and Kai in terror, fearing that Omen had pulled out a gun. Omen looked down at Kai, his smile fading as his eyes travelled to his own stomach were a growing blood blotch appeared. Kai breathed hard, feeling as though he was completely paralysed. Omen and Kai both looked up and saw Anthony Malcom standing there, his gun poised and aimed at Omen.

"You..." Omen gasped, a string of blood trickling from the corner of his lips, "I thought I killed you,"

"Not quite," Malcom replied coldly.

Omen coughed, his blood splattering Kai's face.

"You shot me you prick," Omen said before falling back, the knife falling from his hands and sticking into the ground beside Kai.

Kai quickly rolled away and got to his feet, looking from Malcom to Omen. Malcom was completely covered in large gashes and scabs, the most noticeable of which went straight down the left side of his face and forever rendered his left eye useless. Kai then stared at Omen, a smile coming to his lips as the murderer groaned in pain. He walked over and knelt beside Omen as the bullet hole in his stomach allowed more blood to flow out.

"Do you still like the sight of gushing blood now? You were right Omen," he said with a dark smile, "We have reached the end of our game. Only, you're not the winner,"

Omen gave a weak smirk, his red eyes already dim.

"Oh well," he said quietly, "At least I'll know you'll never forget me. I've scarred every one of you, oh and we can't forget about little Kenny. Heh heh, Kenny. What a funny name."

Kai suddenly punched Omen in the face. Omen's head jerked to the side and he clenched his teeth, spitting blood into the grass.

"That was for Kenny," Kai hissed, "Omen, tell me this. What is it like to feel your body shutting down? How does dying feel? Do you feel the world slipping away from you? Tell me how that feels,"

Omen laughed loudly, his strength completely gone.

"You're using the same words I said to you back in the forest! Cruel Kai, very cruel. However, you're only concreting what I said back then. We are very much alike. More that you'd like to believe."

Omen's hand suddenly lashed out but there was no need for Kai to defend himself. Omen just grabbed Kai's shirt weakly, pulling him closer.

"This isn't over Kai," he hissed, "I guarantee it, I will finish what I came here to do,"

Kai smirked and batted Omen's hand away from him, "That will be hard for you when you're dead. Good bye Omen,"

Kai stood up and headed for Hilary and Malcom who were helping both Trixie and Tala. None of them had their phones so it was impossible to call for an ambulance. Kai helped Tala as Malcom lifted Trixie's limp form into his arms. They all started for the exit when Omen started laughing, his voice growing faint.

"I'll take you to hell with me Kai," his voice was barely audible, "Trust me, I will..."

Kai sneered as the murderer lay limply on the ground, struggling to keep the black shadows in the corners of his eyes at bay. Kai kept throwing glances back at Omen, making sure he wasn't going to miraculously recover and strike when their backs were turned. Omen felt his whole body starting to shut down as he slowly pulled his mobile out of his pocket. He barely had enough strength to send a blank text message to Zane before the phone slipped from his hand and his eyes closed upon the scarlet orbs beneath. Kai smiled grimly as he saw Omen go limp, no longer moving a muscle yet unable to determine whether his chest had stopped raising with those cold, sinister breaths. Once he was sure Omen was dead, he returned his attention to the small group, trying to focus upon getting both Trixie and Tala medical attention as soon as possible.

Kai, Hilary, Tala, Malcom and Trixie all left the school grounds, using the public phone to call for an ambulance immediately. Kai stared at Malcom for a moment as the man placed Trixie on the bench nearby. He quickly gave Tala instructions until he felt Kai's gaze.

"We thought you were dead,"

"I thought I was," Malcom replied, "Omen tortured me then chained me up and threw me into the river. I'd only just got back into town and was heading to the station when I saw Hilary running this way. I called out but she ignored me. She looked scared so I followed."

"Perfect timing," Hilary said, holding Kai around the waist, "If you hadn't of shown up when you did then, Kai would be..."

Still, she couldn't bring herself to say the word.

"Omen's dead," Kai said quietly, a smile on his lips, "He's finally dead!"

Hilary smiled but still felt horrible to the very pits of her stomach. She didn't like it when people lost their lives, ever. The sounds of sirens could be heard in the distance as an ambulance closed in on their position. Tala watched Trixie anxiously as he applied pressure to the wound on her shoulder. The knife had gone straight through and he held two pieces of his torn shirt to each side of her injury.

"She was really upset when Omen told us he'd killed you," Hilary said to Tala.

He looked at her then back to Trixie, saying nothing. The siren grew louder until Kai saw it at the end of the street, racing towards them. It had taken longer than usual, which was strange considering the peninsula on which they lived was no more than six kilometres long and three kilometres wide. The moment the medics got out Kai directed them to both Tala and Trixie.

"What took you so long?" Kai asked impatiently as they unloaded two gurneys.

"There was an explosion at the police station," one medic said quickly as he began tending to Trixie whilst the other helped Tala onto a gurney and started to strap his leg, "It was completely crowded. Over twenty injuries and sixteen deaths."

Kai and Malcom looked at each other.

--

Zane ran through the school, his cousins Ben, Lucas and Don following quickly. Ben and Lucas both carried a stretcher between them.

"Over there!" Zane said, feeling a slight panic fill him when he saw Omen's motionless body lying on the ground.

He skidded on the soft ground beside his best friend, having received the blank message no more than a moment before. The distant sound of an approaching ambulance could be heard. Lucas, Ben and Don immediately set upon Omen, checking his vitals before loading him onto the stretcher.

"He's not breathing," Don said quickly as he and Ben carried the stretcher.

"He's been shot," Lucas added, "Looks like the bullet it embedded right in his rib cage, close to his heart. Damn it! Zane, CPR now!"

Zane nodded and awkwardly blew breath into Omen, struggling to keep him alive. They carried Omen out the side exit of the school grounds, loading him into the back of another ambulance that Ben drove for a living. They all filed into the back of the ambulance with Zane climbing in last, closing the door behind him. The moment he turned around he saw that Don and Lucas had already cut Omen's shirt open and were wearing aprons, masks, medical caps and latex gloves. Lucas took a scalpel and cut into Omen's skin at the bullet wound whilst Don set up an IV drip, also administering a tranquiliser. He then attached Omen to an oxygen-valve-mask, handing the bag to Ben who squeezed it to maintain Omen's breathing. Lucas worked quickly, cutting through Omen's skin and extracting the bullet. Don monitored Omen's vitals and looked to Lucas.

"BP's dropping. Heart rates slowing down,"

"Charge the paddles," Lucas said, quickly stitching up Omen's side.

Zane felt his heart racing as he watched his best friend's life fade away. He felt his heart skip a beat as Omen's heart rate flat-lined. Don, Ben and Lucas looked at him in shock but didn't miss a moment, continuing with their work.

"Paddles charged," Don said.

Lucas nodded and removed his equipment, taking the crash paddles.

"Clear,"

He pressed the paddles to Omen's bare, chiseled chest. The electric charge surged through Omen's body, causing a single blip to come up on the monitor.

"Again!" Zane said, panic setting in.

"Clear!" Lucas said again, pressing the paddles to Omen's chest.

Omen's body jolted once more as the electricity tried to kick-start his heart but to no affect. Zane's saw Lucas's brow furrow and knew in an instant that they may have left him too long. Zane looked at Omen anxiously as Lucas shocked Omen again with the same result.

"Come on mate! You're come so far and endured so much! Don't you dare die now!"

"Clear!"

Lucas pressed the paddles down and jolted Omen. The blip showed once more and was followed by others as Omen's heart started to work on it's own once more. Zane grinned and thrust his fist into the air.

"Yes! I knew you'd come through you stubborn bastard!"

Lucas, Don and Ben all smiled as they continued working on Omen's injuries. Within Omen's body, close to his heart, the small mechanical device known as the Bug detached from his heart and floated away, completely destroyed due to the electric shocks. Omen was no longer under Boris's control.

--

Boris was in his office when he heard a beep come from his precious Bug remote. He picked it up and examined it curiously before picking up his phone. It was getting late and Omen had another hit to make in the name of Voltaire. He dialed the number, waiting patiently as it rang three times before it was answered.

"What?"

Boris, who was about to sneer at Omen, changed his words upon hearing Zane's voice answer the phone.

"You," he said coldly.

"Oh, it's just you," Zane said, putting on a fake tone of hurt and anger which was so incredibly good that Boris was completely fooled, "What the fuck do you want?!"

"Don't talk to me like that you little shit or I'll send out my men just so they can kill you," Boris snapped angrily, "Where is Omen? I need to talk to him,"

"Well you're about ten minutes too late," Zane said in his fake depressed voice, "Omen's dead. He was shot in the chest, he was gone before I could even get to him. This is all your fucking fault!"

Boris felt his blood run cold for a moment. Omen was dead? That was impossible, he was supposed to be the best and most efficient killer in the country.

"Did he kill Kai Hiwatari or Tala Valkov?" Boris asked.

"No," was Zane's curt, enraged response, "It's so nice to see how much you cared about him you dirty bastard,"

Boris put his phone down, not listening to Zane's false words. He laces his fingers and cursed beneath his breath. Voltaire wasn't going to be happy.

--

Tala opened his eyes wearily, the anesthetic that the doctors had used on him during surgery still filling his mind with a blissful dreariness. He moved his head around lethargically and looked at the clock which displayed 3:27am in bright digital numbers. The smell of hospital detergents and bleach filled his senses as the beeping on the heart monitor sounded with regularity. The moment he'd arrived at the hospital they had taken him into surgery and worked on his legs and arms. Now they were all splinted and bandaged, with a morphine drip killing any and all pain that would be otherwise present. Tala looked at the drip and smiled.

"Morphine... I love you,"

"How sad is that,"

Tala looked to the door and saw Trixie standing there with a nasty smile. Her arm was bandaged and wrapped within a sling whilst little gauze pads were taped to other injuries that she'd sustained.

"You love a chemical," she continued, "Another object that will be forever incapable of loving you back,"

"Pfft, what do you know about it?" Tala asked with a smirk, "It's something you'll never understand,"

Trixie looked him up and down with amusement.

"Wow, every one of your limbs are bandaged. Can you even move at all? I can't believe you fell off a building, how stupid."

Tala raised an eyebrow, "Are you trying to start a fight?"

"Maybe,"

"Well I'm not going to participate in your twisted little mind games," Tala replied, "If I was I'd probably make a comment about your weight, or your prune-like appearance or every other disgusting feature you own,"

Trixie walked up beside him, her smile a thin, twitching grimace.

"Keep in mind you're unable to move Valkov," she said darkly, "You never now, I might just put an air bubble in your IV and make you sleep forever!"

"That's if your fat arse allows you to move around to that side of the bed," Tala replied cheekily.

Trixie raised her hand to slap him. Tala closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, realising too late the she had a clear shot at his face. He felt her skin on his forehead and looked up. She kissed him softly on his brow, her fingers rested gently on his chest. She pulled back and smiled at him, rapping his head lightly.

"Scared ya,"

Tala blinked a few times, overcoming his initially shock then smiling back at her.

--

Hilary winced a little but kept her smile as Kai administered antiseptic to her wounds before covering them with either one of several band-aids. She sat on the edge of his bed, with him kneeling in front of her, completely focussed on trying to tend to her injuries with no regard to his own. She had already finished bandaging his arms and legs, and he was just finishing her last cut. She smiled as he stuck a third band-aid on on her knee.

"You're not very good at this, are you?"

Kai looked up at her and grinned. He put his hands either side of her on the bed and leaned forwards, kissing her lips then slowly travelling down to her neck. Hilary's mind went blank as he continued the sensual action, not noticing that she was slowing leaning further back. Her back rested on the soft bed and she only realised what was happening when Kai was kneeling over her, not wanting his weight to hurt her. His lips, which had travelled down to her collarbone, came back up to her ear.

"I'm good at other things," was his husky reply.

Hilary giggled and kissed him.

--

Tyson, Daichi, Ray and Max, who had all received a text message from Kai sat together in Tyson's dojo, rereading the words in utter disbelief.

"Omen was shot," Ray read, "He's dead,"

Tyson brushed tears from his eyes and grinned, laughing a little.

"We're safe!" Daichi said excitedly, "We're safe, we're safe!"

"Yeah," Max said, his eyes finally shining with the happiness he'd possessed in the days before they'd gone camping in the forest.

--

Several days later...

Zane and Kyata both walked to Don's house straight from school. No one knew that Omen was dead yet except for Kai and his friends, and thanks to Zane's little lie about Omen's partnerstaking his body, there was no suspicion drawn to the lack of corpse. The pair walked up the hallway and entered the apartment. Don and Lucas were busy watching cartoons whilst Ben made himself a sandwich. They walked straight down the hallway and into the spare room where Omen sat on the edge of his bed, his shirtless torso completely bandaged up but his red eyes glittering in the thin gap of light, just like his beloved dagger which he toyed with in his hand.

"Good to see you up," Zane said with a smirk, "You gave us a scare mate,"

Kyata smiled as she watched her boyfriend spin the blade skillfully in his fingers, his lips curled into a sadistic smile. Though each time she looked at his bandaged chest, she couldn't help but feel enraged, to the point where she wanted to hurt the man who did that to him. Not kill him, but cripple him some how just so he could feel the pain that Omen felt.

"No one suspects?" Omen asked softly.

"Nope," Zane replied, "Kai and all the little groupies think you're dead, though they're the only ones. Even the cops don't know about your death,"

"And that cop that shot me?"

Kyata smiled, "He's been unconscious for the past few days. Lucas gave me the medicine and needle and I just keep injecting him. Until of course you're ready to punish him yourself,"

Omen laughed softly.

"Good,"

Kyata sat beside him and kissed him on the neck softly, but he made no move to do the same. The thin gap of light which had crept past the dark curtains was the only light in the otherwise pitch black room. It shot across Omen's chest, making his eyes glitter and glow demonically whilst the rest of his face remained hidden in the shadows. Kyata kissed him along his chiseled shoulder. He ignored it and kept smiling, his mind working faster with each moment, planning out they ways in which he'd make his enemies suffer. He didn't have time for Kyata's affection. He loved her but at that moment, his mind was on more pressing matters.

"All I have to do now is wait," he said smoothly, "They'll all be recovering from their injuries so I have plenty of time. But first, there are a few people I need to take care of. That annoying copper for starters, then there's Boris and his puppet-master. I told them that I'd kill them. They should have heeded my warnings and fled when they could. Now they will suffer."

Omen pegged his knife across the room, the blade embedding in the wall and halfing a moth that had been resting there. Omen laughed darkly, his husky voice low with suppressed excitement.

"This time there will be no playful teasing. There will be no chances. This time, I will kill them. Get ready Kai. A whole new game is about to start,"

--
--

Omen's New Game

CHAPTER 1 excerpt...

Anthony Malcom breathed heavily, sweat pearls ever-present on his brow and blood trickling from his lips. He sat in a small and desolate room, completely dark except for the orange light which cast its dull glow right above his head. He sat in a wooden chair, his arms tied behind it and his ankles cruelly strapped to each of the legs. Barbed wire was wrapped tightly around his torso and the chair, coiling around his wrists and ankles also. If he even tried to escape, the wire would cut into him. His clothes were tattered and blood stained and hadn't been changed for almost two months.
They were the clothes he'd dressed in as he left the hospital, specially picked just so he could look good as he greeted his family to show them that he wasn't dead. He'd made it as far as the bus stop when he'd lost consciousness and awoken to find himself in this hell hole. A place filled with nothing but pain and the screams of agony which accompanied every session of torture. The only marks that defined one wall from another were the small spattered droplets of blood, some made from him and others made by other people who he'd tortured in order to get information. Each time the subject came up with no information, he'd kill them right in front of Malcom without hesitation and without even the flicker of an eye. To him, it came as easy as breathing, and looked to be as enthralling as sex.

Malcom heard the patters of his footsteps coming towards the door, ready for another exciting torture session. Hedidn't torture Malcom to extract information, hewas torturing him as punishment. That first time, Malcom couldn't believe his eyes and even now, the sight of himshocked Malcom down to the very bone. He knew that he'd shot him and he watched as the murderer had died.
No wait, no he didn't. Hewas still alive when they'd left, laying flat on the wet, grassy ground as the rain sprinkled down on his bloodied body. Malcom had assumed hewould be dead, but he wasn't. He was alive and Malcom became all the more aware of that fact as the lock on the door clicked loudly and it swung open, the rusty hinges screaming as though it were trying to communicate a fraction the horrors that the room had seen. Malcom gritted his teeth and looked into his kidnapper's glistening demonic red eyes, which danced in the light with sinister amusement.

"So sorry Officer Malcom," his husky voice was smooth and cold, running over the former police officer like an icy sheet of water, "But this is the day when we say good bye. I'd love to keep torturing you to the point where you cry, but I have plans that need tending to."

"What are you going to do?" Malcom asked, his once smooth and sophisticated voice now harsh from the damage sustained each time screams had torn out of his throat, "Go after my family if I say anything? I won't say a thing, I promise you!"

He

laughed softly and pulled a knife out of his belt.

"Oh no Officer Malcom. This is a whole new game. In this game, there are no second chances."

TO BE CONTINUED...

--

And that's the end of Bad Omens!! Don't start cheering just yet, you still have to suffer through the next story, Omen's New Game which should be posted, soonish. Sorry, I guess you'll have to suffer just a little more through this, I just love Omen too much!! jaane(see ya in Japanese)!

xxx Shari